Perfect Possession - Episode 9

Jae-hoon, looking at the pale Seo-yeon, wanted to go even less. Although she was holding up well, she looked so fragile, as if she would collapse if someone just nudged her.

Jae-hoon hated seeing Seo-yeon cry. That’s why he pushed her, telling her not to cry, as if she didn’t even have the right to. He reached out to comfort her, feeling sorry, but then put his hand back down.

Right now, finding even a single clue was important. The pain of the two people who didn’t even deserve to be parents was a problem for later. He knew that she must be waiting anxiously, and Jae-hoon’s own heart was heavy as he went to such a seedy bar.

“I’ll be right back. I want to tell you to sleep, but I know you won’t, so wait at home.”

Seo-yeon realized that Jae-hoon had no intention of taking her there. She looked up at him and nodded.

“I can’t sleep. So, come straight back as soon as you find out anything.”

“Okay.”

Seo-yeon followed Jae-hoon out of the room. Seeing Hyun-shik waiting in the hallway, she blushed without realizing it. Perhaps it was because she had met Jae-hoon again and cleared up the misunderstanding, but her emotions fluctuated with memories of him from the past.

Seo-yeon avoided Hyun-shik’s gaze and followed Jae-hoon to the front door. The time had already passed midnight. Jae-hoon said it would take about two hours, but it felt like two days to Seo-yeon.

As soon as Jae-hoon left, she didn’t return to her room but went to the living room, where she could see the entrance clearly. From her room, she couldn’t see the cars coming in very well.

Her heart felt like it would burst if she didn’t watch something. It was always like this. Whenever she met or contacted someone who might have a clue, she became so nervous that she felt like throwing up.

Then, if she didn’t find out anything and couldn’t get in touch, the ground would crumble beneath her feet.

How much resentment she held towards her own incompetence? Seo-yeon hated herself as much as she resented Sung-hee. Then, when despair deepened, her resentment lingered on Jae-hoon as well.

But seeing him running around trying to find out something without even sleeping, her heart ached with guilt.

“I’m sorry, Jae-hoon.”

The feelings she couldn’t contain leaked out. Then, Seo-yeon quickly shut her mouth. She didn’t think anything would change just by muttering to herself.

She decided that when she found the child, she would sincerely express her gratitude to Jae-hoon.

They were both responsible for breaking up without confirming anything and only listening to others. But the responsibility for getting pregnant and not telling him right away was solely her own. She had no intention of denying that.

As her anxiety reached its peak, Seo-yeon jumped up and went right to the window. Only the lights illuminating the garden and the lights at the entrance of the parking lot were brightening the darkness in her place.

***

It was such a rural area that Jae-hoon wondered if there were still places like this in the metropolitan area. Jae-hoon didn’t get out of the car but stared expressionlessly at what looked like a shabby bar.

The only thing that indicated it was the place he was looking for was the neon sign that looked like it hadn’t been up for very long. The sign read ‘TTOWA BAR’ in English. It was a word with no discernible meaning.

“‘Come Again Bar’,” Hyun-shik explained as Jae-hoon’s gaze lingered on the sign.

“I won’t forget it once I hear it.”

As time went on, Jae-hoon’s anger towards Sung-hee grew stronger. The more he dug, the more he realized how terrible the woman she had entrusted his son to was.

It was just a bar with a flashy sign on the outskirts of town now, but when he thought about what kind of people might be involved later, his blood boiled, and he felt like his head would explode with anger.

He felt like he was suffocating, like air couldn’t penetrate his lungs, and he barely managed to let out a heavy breath and said, “Bring her out.”

Jae-hoon couldn’t bring himself to go inside, so he told Hyun-shik.

“Yes, just a moment.”

As if he expected it, Hyun-shik immediately got out of the car and went inside the bar. It wasn’t long before Hyun-shik came out with a woman wearing a short miniskirt and a tank top.

Jae-hoon didn’t want to put her in the car, so he got out.

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise when she found Jae-hoon, then returned to a flirtatious smile. There was still some distance between them, but the woman’s cheap perfume smell reached Jae-hoon.

His stomach twisted momentarily, and he felt like throwing up. If it weren’t for his son’s problem, he wouldn’t want to stay for even a second.

He was glad he hadn’t brought Seo-yeon. He had come to find out if she knew where Jeongwon was, but he was even afraid that she might be a woman who had a direct relationship with Tae-yul.

‘Don’t think useless thoughts. There’s no way a woman like that would be taking care of our son.’

“Oh my, why didn’t you come in and call me out?”

The woman, who looked to be in her mid-thirties, had such heavy makeup on, as if she was trying to hide her age, that it was hard to recognize her original face.

“Watch your mouth. He’s not the kind of person you can talk to like that.”

Hyun-shik couldn’t stand it either, and his displeasure was written all over his expressionless face.

“If he’s not that kind of person, why would he ask to see me?”

“Park Jeongwon, where is that woman now?”

Jae-hoon stopped Hyun-shik from speaking and asked directly. The woman’s eyes narrowed as if she couldn’t believe it. She seemed surprised that Jeongwon’s name came out of the mouth of a man who lived in a different world than them.

As her gaze scanned Jae-hoon up and down, Hyun-shik held out a white envelope over the woman’s face.

“You should be careful about what you see and say. To do that, it’s better for you to see less and only answer the questions you’re asked.”

The woman swallowed her breath as she smelled the money. She put the cardigan she was holding on and pulled down the miniskirt that had gone up to her hips. Then, she turned her body away from Jae-hoon and looked elsewhere.

“I don’t know where she is. But.”

She hugged the envelope of money to her chest as if it were her lover.

“I can meet her. Actually, I got a call last night. She asked if she could stay for a few days. But I’m living with a very sensitive boyfriend right now, and he’s young, so he’s full of energy. I didn’t want her to come in case they hooked up.”

“Don’t say unnecessary things.”

Hyun-shik frowned at her unpleasant words.

“Oh, I’m sorry. If you want, I’ll ask her to meet you. Of course, I’ll keep your visit a secret.”

Jae-hoon gestured to Hyun-shik that he would speak. He said in a heavy, cold tone.

“If I get to meet that woman, I’ll give you more money.”

“Yes? Oh, of course. I’ll contact her right away.”

The woman turned to Jae-hoon at the mention of more money, but he was already in the car. Just then, Yoon’s car, the lawyer, approached as if he had been waiting.

“This is our lawyer. Remember that responsibility comes with the money you received.”

Hyun-shik said something to Yoon, who was getting out of the car, without even hearing the woman’s answer, and got into the car.

“We’ve also decided to keep an eye on the man the woman lives with.”

“Let’s go.”

Hyun-shik pretended not to see Jae-hoon fiddling with his phone and hurriedly started the car.

***

Seo-yeon gasped and opened her eyes in surprise. She was definitely sitting on the sofa looking outside, but she must have dozed off for a while because she was lying down on the sofa.

She jumped up from her seat and went to the window. She checked the time on the phone in her hand and found that an hour and 50 minutes had passed since Jae-hoon left.

“He should be back soon…”

Seo-yeon muttered in a voice that faded into her breath. A straight line of light was coming from beyond the house. It was definitely a car’s headlights.

She immediately opened the front door and ran outside. At the same time, the parking lot door opened, and Park, the butler, was seen waiting.

“I received a call, but I didn’t tell you because you seemed to be sleeping.”

Park lowered his head and said quietly, as if he had read Seo-yeon’s gaze asking why she was out here alone.

“From now on, tell me right away no matter what I’m doing.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Seo-yeon, unable to lift her face because she was ashamed of having slept, stared intently at the car and clenched her hands tightly. The car seemed to stop, and Jae-hoon opened the door and got out himself. He immediately approached Seo-yeon.

“Why are you out here?”

“How did it go?”

“Let’s go inside and talk. Hyun-shik, you’ve done a good job. Butler Park, please go in and rest too.”

Seo-yeon went inside with Jae-hoon, feeling unbearably anxious. But she didn’t urge Jae-hoon, who looked tired. They went up to the living room on the second floor, and he opened the window wide and unbuttoned a couple of shirt buttons.

“My head hurts because of the cheap perfume smell.”

Jae-hoon was particularly sensitive to smells. Now that he mentioned it, it seemed like there was a pungent synthetic rose scent.

Seo-yeon approached Jae-hoon closely and inhaled, intending to smell it more closely. Behind the refreshing and cool scent, there was definitely a bad smell left.

“You should have met outside.”

She raised her gaze and froze. They were too close. Her reflection was visible in Jae-hoon’s dark eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Jae-hoon grabbed Seo-yeon’s shoulders and pulled her close as she stepped back. The cold, dark eyes instantly filled with desire and sank deeply.

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